The City of Charlottesville invites students and professional architects, artists, planners, and designers to take part in the 2009 Sister Cities Clock Design Competition. The aim is to create an original design for a clock that honors Charlottesville’s relationship with its three Sister Cities: Besancon, France; Pleven, Bulgaria; and Poggio a Caiano, Italy.

The City of Charlottesville may have the winning clock design fabricated, and installed on Charlottesville’s Downtown Pedestrian Mall, which is located in the Downtown Architectural Design Control District, a local historic district. The Downtown Pedestrian Mall was originally designed by Lawrence Halprin, constructed in 1976, and rehabilitated this year. The mall is located on West and East Main Streets, beginning at the intersection of West Water Street and extending to the intersection of 7th Street NE.

Completed entries shall be received no later than 5 pm on Friday, October 23, 2009 in the Department of Neighborhood Development Services, 610 E. Market Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902. Entries shall be reviewed and judged anonymously by an official jury comprised of members of the community, including design professionals. The public may also be invited to view and informally judge the entries.

The City of Charlottesville reserves the right to accept or decline the official jury’s choice of clock design or specific location on the mall. Participants in the competition cannot be: members of the jury, a person involved in the description of the terms of the competition, or a person involved in organizing or settling the competition.

The jury’s choice for the winning entry shall be awarded a cash prize of $1,500, whether or not the clock is actually constructed. Second prize will be $1,000 and third prize will be $500. However, if no entry is submitted that meets the competition requirements and criteria, in the opinion of the jury, then no cash prizes or winners will be awarded.

The entries shall be judged using the following criteria:

1. Overall quality and appropriateness of design for the proposed location;

2. Appropriate recognition of Charlottesville’s relationship with its three Sister Cities: Besancon, France; Pleven, Bulgaria; and Poggio a Caiano, Italy;

3. Consistency with the Architectural Design Control District Design Guidelines;

4. Originality of concept;

5. Sustainability of materials and design;

6. Functionality; and

7. Reasonable estimated cost to fabricate and install.

The completed entry shall include:

1. Completed application form (PRESS HERE), including an estimate of the fabrication/installation cost (not to exceed $25,000);

2. At least one, but no more than two, 24” x 36” flat mounted drawings suitable for wall display, describing the design, size, and materials and colors of the proposed clock and a specific proposed location for permanent installation on the Downtown Pedestrian Mall; and

3. One digital copy and one hard copy of all required submission materials.

No identification of the designer shall be included on any of the submission materials, except page 1 of the application form. The designer shall enter a 6-character password (numerals or upper or lower case letters) on the application form, and this password shall be included on the upper right hand corner of all submission materials.